Google has hired boutique investment bank Qatalyst Group to provide advice on the ongoing battle between Microsoft and Yahoo.
Qatalyst Group is headed by colorful Silicon Valley investment banker Frank Quattrone, who as we noted in March has returned to the Valley after spending years in the wilderness fighting obstruction of justice charges.
Quattrone was head technology banker for Credit Suisse, and Morgan Stanley before that, during the first internet boom and had a hand in practically every major Internet IPO during the 1990s, from Amazon to Netscape. Notably Quattrone was one of the first investment bankers to show an interest in Google.
Amid daily reports of Microsoft’s attempted takeover of Yahoo, it comes as little surprise that Google has turned to an outside advisor for guidance. That it is Quattrone’s Qatalyst Group shows that Quattrone may climb back to his prime spot in Silicon Valley faster than his detractors would have expected..